vendredi 21 avril 2017

FAITH -- LA FOI -- LA FE

We tend to think of faith as a matter of the mind, like the
knowledge or awareness of any truth. But we see in today’s readings that faith
is much more.

The first community of believers was led by faith to share
with one another everything they had. The believers to whom St. Peter wrote
were willing to prove their faith through trials. And Thomas the Apostle, once
overwhelmed by faith in the Risen Christ, cried out from the depth of his
being: “My Lord and my God!”

In the case of the Apparition of Our Lady of La Salette, the
response of those who came to believe took primarily two forms.

First was a return to the practice of their faith. Maximin’s
father, Mr. Giraud, like Thomas in the Gospel, did not come to this belief
easily. But once he did become a believer, the first thing he did was to go to
confession. After that, he went to Mass every day for the rest of his life. (He
died nearly two and a half years later.)

A second response was a deeper understanding of Mary’s role
in our life. It was ordinary believers, not the official Church, that gave Our
Lady of La Salette her title, Reconciler of Sinners.

Yes, reconciliation with God, reconciliation with the Church—Mr.
Giraud is a good example—these are the natural and spontaneous effects of faith
in the Beautiful Lady. And, like the faith shown in today’s readings, it leads
us to “rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy,” “with exultation and
sincerity of heart,” just as “the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.”

Perhaps we ourselves have experienced periods of doubt. We
all know people who have little or no faith.
This is distressing to anyone who understands the real difference
between ordinary knowledge and faith.

Knowledge has to do with content, with facts that can be
useful, fascinating, even beautiful. But ultimately they don’t really matter.
St. Thomas Aquinas, one of the greatest theologians in history, realized one
day that all he had written was just so much straw.

Faith affects us in so many important ways, and provides a
solid foundation for our lives.